Carol J. Bryson

Carol J. Bryson, 82, of Wamego, KS, passed away Friday, October 28, 2011 at Valley Vista Good Samaritan Center. She was born April 13, 1929, in Allen, KS, the daughter of Merle and Luella “Betty” (Leavell) Simmons. She attended Allen schools. While she was in high school, she worked as a telephone switch board operator for .10 cents an hour. Carol graduated from Kansas State Teachers College in Emporia, KS in 1951. She was a member of Pi Omega Pi honorary business fraternity. She taught business subjects in Melvern, KS from 1951 to 1958. She was also a substitute teacher in Onaga and Alma, KS. On June 27, 1954, Carol married Arlon C. Bryson in Allen, Ks. They celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2004. T They moved to Onaga and then to Alma, where Arlon was a school administrator of those schools. While in Melvern, she was a senior class sponsor and she and Arlon sponsored senior trips to Florida, New Mexico, Colorado, and New Orleans. She was a member of the Methodist Church. In Melvern, she was a Sunday School teacher and member of WSCS. She continued to be active in the Methodist Church of Alma, Onaga and Wamego. While in Onaga, Carol served on the Pottawatomie County Extension Board and also was an officer in the Extension Unit in Onaga. While in Alma, she was a volunteer library aide in the grade school and also a reader to kindergarteners. She was also a member of the Ladies Reading Circle and Eastern Star. Carol and Arlon and their sons traveled to many of the states. She enjoyed many trips with their sons and their families over the years, once going to Hawaii with Kyle, Donna and Courtney. They traveled many times to Tucson, sometimes with Chris, Cindy, Tyler and Tara along. She was an avid follower of her grandchildren’s sports events, making she and their grandfather so very proud. In later years, she delighted in many family reunions with her family and her brothers and sisters and their families at Lake TenKiller in Oklahoma. Some of her favorite things were collecting replicas of Humming Birds, working crossword puzzles, and reading. Her family was the most precious and dearest thing in her life. Surviving are her husband Arlon, of the home; two sons, Kyle Bryson and his wife Donna, Tucson, AZ, Chris Bryson and his wife Cindy, Wamego, KS; her sisters, Susan Partridge (Chuck) of Wamego, Judith Boline (Leonard) of Gardner, KS; her brothers, Lawrence Simmons (Jan) of Wichita, KS, Bruce Simmons (Joye) of Olney, TX, David Simmons (Connie), Blytheville, AR, grandchildren: Tyler Bryson (Beth) of Abilene, KS, Tara Shaw (Bret) of Overland Park, KS, Courtney Bryson of Tucson, AZ, Jonelle Vold (Jeff), Tucson, AZ, Brandon Frazee (Tiffany) of Phoenix AZ; great-grandchildren, Avery and Kambree, Abilene, KS, twins Kaylee and Jacob, Tucson, AZ, and Callie and Charlotte of Phoenix. Funeral services for Mrs. Bryson will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011 at Stewart Funeral Home of Wamego. Burial will follow in Wamego City Cemetery. She will lie in-state beginning at 4:00 p.m. Tuesday at the Stewart Funeral Home, where family will greet friends during a visitation Tuesday, 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Wamego Public Library or the First United Methodist Church and may be left in care of Stewart Funeral Home of Wamego, P.O. Box 48, 66547.